Blog Post

We have some awesome artists and handcrafters at the 2017 Main Street Food Truck Festival, so GET THE SCOOP on Brandy Thomason McNair who is helping wrangle them all!

Q: What is your name and where do you live?A: Brandy Thomason McNair, Governor’s Mansion/SoMa

Q: How long have you lived there?A: 3 years

Q: Where did you grow up?A: Harrison, AR

Q: Where do you work and what is your job there?A: I am the owner and designer of my jewelry line, Bella Vita Jewelry and our brick and mortar shop with the same name in downtown Little Rock. As the owner of a small business, I do everything!

Q: What is your favorite thing about your job duties?A: Flexibility to do what I want, when I want. Working with the public and meeting new customers everyday and making them happy with my jewelry or curated items from my shop.

Q: What or where do you usually eat for lunch?A: Since I like to cook, I usually bring my lunch to work with me; salads or leftovers from dinner. But, I let myself eat out for lunch one day a week. Most of the time that means I order lunch delivery from the Dandy Line Kitchen or Crave Fuel becausec they are super affordable, healthy, and DELIVER! But other regulars are Katmandu Momo on FTF, Three Fold, Cotijas, Arbella in the Tower Building, & Boulevard.

Q: What was the last thing you did for fun on downtown Main Street?A: 2nd Friday Art Night is by far one of my favorite downtown activities! Well that and Food Truck Festival… I had so much fun walking down Main Street and visiting the businesses that were open late and the Pop Up Artists!

Q: Do you have a favorite spot on Main Street?A: Hmm… that is hard question. I walk Main Street a lot for exercise and for fun… I’ve really been digging the 300 block where Soulfish, Bruno’s and Samanthas are. I love all three of those restaurants for happy hour and for dinner. But, I’m also a big fan of the 500 block where the Boyle Building is, I’d love to see someone revive that building.

Q: What role do you have in the Main Street Food Truck Festival?A: I am helping organize and coordinate the Handmade Artists that set up in the 500 block of Main Street.

Q: How many years have you attended the festival?A: This will be my 3rd.

Q: What is your favorite thing about the festival?A: The amount of people that it brings to downtown Little Rock!

Q: If you had a food truck, what kind of food do you think you would sell?A: Tacos! All day!

Q: Do you like to cook for yourself?A: Yes! I love to cook and garden.

Q: What is the best dish you cook?A: Tacos. But, I’ve started experimenting and learning about Indian food.

Q: What’s your favorite dish to cook for friends?A: We do a lot of dinner parties with friends, and they are usually potluck style. I love making fresh salads and vegetable dishes from our garden.

Q: For just you?A: Roasted vegetables with a fried egg on top. Tacos. Salads.

Q: On a scale of 1 – 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, how do you rate your own cooking?A: 9

Q: The last time you went out to eat, did you go with a tried and true dish from the menu or something different and exciting?A: Tried and true, my last dining out experience was U.S. Pizza last Sunday. We had cheeseburger pizza and salad — they have the best cheeseburger pizza.

Q: What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?A: I’m not a picky eater, but I’m not very adventurous either. My husband made me a squirrel breakfast once and I only tried the gravy… then went to brunch with my friends.

Q: What is your favorite food in the whooooole world?A: Well I come from an Italian family and my Grandfather started a restaurant that I practically grew up in… so, pretty much anything from their menu brings lots of comfort to me. I love anything with their marinara sauce, and of course the cream sauces, desserts, and all that stuff that is really bad for me.

Q: If you could have anything in the world made by anyone in the world for your last meal, what would that meal include and who would prepare each thing?A: Definitely my grandpas biscuits and gravy, my mom’s venison or wild turkey dinner, my grandma’s apple pie, my mother in laws fried okra & jalapenos and coconut cream pie, and my husbands smoked ribs.

Q: If you could steal the credit for being the creator of any dish ever created in the history of ever, what would it be?A: That is a really hard question. Maybe guacamole? I make really good guacamole.

Q: If you could redesign the food pyramid (without any dire health consequences) how would it look?A: It would be topped with more vegetables & fruits than ever! And daily glasses of wine.

Q: We finish this interview and you step outside and find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $10 million. What would you do?A: OMG, I’d go on vacation. I work too much and need a vacation. I’d come back home, reorganize my business and expand it. Then open a not for profit, casual, farm to table restaurant that grew as much produce as it could on site. All of its profits would be given back to homeless neighbors in Little Rock. And I would start a food truck specializing in breakfast tacos.

Hang out with Brandy and all of our amazing artists at this year’s Main Street Food Truck Festival on October 7 and keep an eye out here and on Facebook for more updates!